The Enceladus Icy Jet Analyzer (ENIJA) is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer developed to search for prebiotic molecules like amino acids and biosignatures in the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Most of the ice particles in Enceladus' plume have been shown to be direct samples of subsurface waters, offering an opportunity to assess its internal ocean's geochemical and habitability potential without having to land and drill through the ice.
[4] The instrument is based on the principle of impact ionization and is optimized for the analysis of high dust fluxes and number densities as typically occur during Enceladus plume crossings.
Impact ionization shows an excellent sensitivity for compounds embedded in a water ice matrix.
[1] The mass resolution is > 970 m/dm for typical plume particles in the size range 0.01 to 100 μm.